Brothers
by ZekeStone
Summary: This is my way of explaining where Paul comes from, its kind of angst, mild swearing and mention of abuse. It also shows Reggie's relationship with Paul.


**Brothers**

**Disclaimer:** Yea, Pokemon belongs to me, Misty is still on the show and I'm writing this fiction from my house on the moon!

**Reggie's P.O.V**

It's not always been like this, there was a time when we would laugh and smile, play together, we were inseparable. Even back then, people would call me a prodigy because I was supposedly good at every thing, the only difference was that Paul admired that, he hadn't learnt to resent me yet. I love my little brother so much, he smiled whenever he saw me, and despite all the pressure my father put me under, seeing flaws every where, I always knew that my biggest fan, my brother would support me, he made me feel confident whether he realised it or not.

And then it happened, I was 8 at the time, our mother finally decided to leave father, they got a divorce, and I was so happy because I would not have to see him anymore, I would not get yelled at for no reason anymore. But this happiness was short lived, as it would turn out, Dad got Paul.

It was such a ridiculous situation, our father, who had never so much as looks at Paul before would be taking him away, it was agreed that in a month I would spent one weekend at Dads house and Paul would come to us for one weekend.

The weekend at Dads were stressful, and tense, I noticed that Paul didn't talk anymore, which I thought was odd because, the 3 year old hadn't shut up since he learned to talk, I figured he just didn't want to piss off Dad, I didn't read into it much because he still had that smile every time he saw me. But as time progressed it faded, no more smiles, after a point he didn't ever show any expression.

Paul took to sitting quietly and studying, avoiding every one, when he would come to visit, he would stack his shoes one on top of each other against the wall, to me it seemed like he was trying to hide the fact he was here. He didn't play anymore, didn't even let me any where near him, no more games, he was 6 by then, he only studied, I never understood why, he was only a kid for gods sake. One time I bumped into him, we both fell to the floor, me on top of him, and he screamed so loud I wanted to get help but he said that he was fine, and told me to leave him alone.

Another time, I ran into dad and him at the city hall, all the younger children, including Paul had taken a basic skills test, and the scores had just been posted, I pushed into the front of the crowd, Paul had almost perfect grades, I felt so proud of him, he got full marks in every thing but English, where he had only lost one mark. And this weekend was his turn to stay with us, I couldn't help but feel happy, he'd be in a good mood, things would go back to the way they should be, he'd be happy again and maybe we could play, I was already making plans in my head as I went over to congratulate him. He was close to tears, so upset about loosing only one mark, he even begged the examiners to recheck his paper, it was the most I'd heard him say in years. When the weekend came he seemed to be limping and more distant that ever.

I was so confused, I just wanted my little brother back, I didn't understand why he was like this, so I did the big brotherly thing, I confronted him, I was so frustrated, I yelled at him, we argued, he tried to escape so I did what any sibling would do, I sat on him, I just wanted to help him, I wanted him to tell me what was wrong so I could make it better, I wanted him to be happy again. He froze, his eyes filled with pain and fear, he flinched almost as though I would hurt him, I thought I had, so I pulled up his shirt to look for an injury, and that's when is saw them for the first time, the scars and bruises, an ugly purple, even a ting of green in some places. He kicked me and ran.

I didn't see him for a long time after that, I told mom what had happened, the custody battle was back on, she and dad seemed to be constantly be yelling at each other over the phone, she would cry at night, I wanted to cry to, but I decided to stay strong for her, after all, she was trying to save my little brother.

And then the monster was gone, he died of a heart attack while trying to beat my little brother to death. We got a call from the police, Paul was waiting for us at the local hospital, we rushed there to get him.

I was so relieved, he was ok, but then the doctors told us that Paul had been hurting like this for years, and for the first time I clearly saw the shell of a person my brother had become, he refused to look us in the eye and pulled away when we tried to comfort him.

I had questions, but so did the police, they wanted to know, if I had noticed anything before, why Paul didn't ask for help himself, that was the only one he answered, he told us all that he didn't need help, that he wasn't pathetic enough to rely on others.

We took him home, he didn't speak at all anymore, I'm his big brother, it was suppose to be my job to protect him, and I failed, I tried to apologise to him, but he told me to save it, because according to him he was pathetic enough to let himself get hurt, so he planned to get stronger, power meant everything to him now.

Two months later, he turned 10, got his first pokemon and left home, he barley said goodbye, he planned cut all contact with us, as he was leaving, I gave him an invitation to my battle with Brandon, hoping that maybe he would come and that maybe we could spend some time together.

I lost that match, but that was still the greatest day of my life, because I had my number one fan sitting there with his turtwig, cheering me on, It was also important for another reason, as even though he left right after the match, he called me that night and asked what I planned to do now, I told him of my dream to be a breeder, and how I would be settling down in Veilstone city, he listened to me, and seemed to be thinking about something very carefully. Finally he told me that he like it if could help him raise his pokemon, I was overjoyed. Mainly, because he chose to stay in contact with me, I'm the only thing that connects him to his past.

And so it began, he calls me every week, slowly I'm trying to rebuild out bond, maybe someday I'll help him get rid of his shell had help him become the person I remember.

Well, that's something i've been wanting to write for a while, Paul's original name is shinji, or the second, and he seems to love his brother a lot, yet seems to resent him a bit, this was my reason why. I hope you enjoyed, feedback is alaways appreciated.

-Chika


End file.
